Rapid reduction of aqueous selenate with chromous ions

ABSTRACT

Processes are provided for the kinetically efficient reduction of selenate species to selenide species using chromous ions in acidic solution. This reduction may advantageously be carried out in the presence of sulphate species, with selective selenate reduction in preference to the reduction of sulfate. The reduced selenate may be removed from the chromous-treated solution, for example by precipitation of a copper-selenide solid. The chromic ions formed by reaction of chromous ions in the reduction of selenate may also be removed from solution, for example by addition of a base to form an insoluble chromic hydroxide solid. The chromic hydroxide may be recycled to regenerate chromous ions, for example by electrolysis. In this way, systems are provided for continuously removing dissolved selenium from wastewater streams.

FIELD

Innovations are disclosed in the field of aqueous redox chemistry, including processes for removing dissolved selenium species from wastewaters.

BACKGROUND

Selenium in a trace amount is an essential element that plays an important role in humans and animals in preventing of diseases. As a nutrient, selenium is used by human body at recommended doses of 70 μg/day for men and 50 μg/day for women (Tinggi, 2003). However, when selenium is released to the environment from both natural and industrial activities it can lead to increased concentrations in surface water, groundwater, soils, and vegetation. Unfortunately, even small concentrations of selenium can be toxic for many forms of aquatic life. Additionally, selenium accumulation to higher concentrations in wildlife species tissues leads to toxic levels for aquatic life, birds, and mammals including humans. In the interest of protecting aquatic environments, selenium discharge into the environment is closely controlled and monitored. (Beatty and Russo, 2014; IAEA, 2007; Tinggi, 2003)

Selenium in nature is mostly associated with metal sulfide minerals such as copper, iron, zinc, and lead sulfides (Zingaro and Cooper, 1974). The treatment of these ores to extract the metals of interest has the potential for selenium release and transport into surface and groundwater systems. Other sources of selenium contamination include coal mining, fossil fuel combustion, oil refining, and discharge of seleniferous drainage water from agriculture (Zingaro and Cooper, 1974). Selenium contamination in the receiving environment is a key issue for many industries and the treatment of wastewater contaminated with selenium is a growing challenge.

Selenium speciation in solution plays an important role in its removal as well as toxicology especially at low levels. Selenite (SeO₃ ²⁻, Se(IV)) and selenate (SeO₄ ²⁻, Se(VI)) are the most important inorganic selenium species which are generally found in water and known to be toxic (Beatty and Russo, 2014). Relative to selenate, selenite can be quite easily removed from solutions using various treatment methods such as chemical reduction (e.g., zero valent iron and sulfur dioxide), and precipitation and adsorption by ferrihydrite salt. These methods are not efficient for selenate removal due to the high solubility of selenate in the solutions, its weak adsorption on the surfaces of precipitates, and slow kinetics of selenate reduction (Murphy, 1988; Sandy and DiSante, 2010). In Canada, the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) has set Water Quality Guidelines, which for selenium are 1 μg/L in fresh water. In 2014, British Colombia updated its own guideline at 2 μg/L for fresh water and marine aquatic life (Beatty and Russo, 2014; CCME, 2009).

The redox potential for the selenate/selenite redox couple is quite high; therefore, the reduction of selenate to selenite (HSeO₄ ⁻ to H₂SeO₃ or SeO₄ ²⁻ to HSeO₃ ⁻) is thermodynamically favorable. However, kinetically, the reaction is known to be slow (Mokmeli et al., 2013; Sandy and DiSante, 2010). Consequently, reagents that are suitable to reduce selenite to elemental selenium or selenide are thermodynamically effective for selenate reduction as well, but reaction times are unacceptably long. For instance, Weir et al. (1982) reported that selenite can be quite easily reduced to elemental selenium using copper powder (99% after 1 min in 10-50 g/I sulfuric acid at room temperature). In contrast, selenate reduction with metallic copper was much slower and required a higher temperature around the boiling point (Weir et al., 1983a; Weir et al., 1982).

Various reagents have been studied for the reduction of selenate to its lower oxidation state. For example, Koyama and Kobayashi (2000) used copper, iron, zinc and aluminum powder to reduce selenate in HCl solution at pH 2 and found that iron was the most efficient reductant. Zero valent iron has a high potential for the removal of selenate (up to 100% in laboratory testing). However, the presence of certain salts like phosphate (PO₄ ³⁻) and nitrate (NO₃ ⁻) reduces the efficiency of selenate removal to 43%. Mondal et al. (2004) reported that the presence of 2.5 g/L sulphate in solution reduced the selenate removal by NiFe powder from 100% to 71.5% in a standard experiment. The other disadvantages of the use of metals in the reduction of selenate is that usually a large excess of metal is required per unit of selenate in the solution which increases the costs of reagents and introduces a significant challenge in waste management of the treatment of sludge. For instance, Mondal et al. (2004) studied the reduction of selenate by NiFe powder and found the maximum selenate removal of 98% (10 min at initial selenate concentration of 100 ppm) at a NiFe powder usage of 5 g/L. However, at a lower NiFe powder usage (0.6 g/L), the selenate removal decreased dramatically (80% after 2 h) and there was no further significant selenate removal at a longer residence time. The reduction of selenate by sulfur dioxide has also been studied and it was found that the reaction requires an autoclave at higher temperature (above 140° C.) and a long reaction time (several hours) is needed for a complete reduction (Weir et al., 1983b; Zingaro and Cooper, 1974). In general, current methods available for selenate removal from water solutions suffer from slow kinetics, incomplete removal of selenate, use of expensive reagents, high energy cost to heat solutions to high temperature and secondary contamination of the treated solution.

SUMMARY

The invention provides a process for the reduction of selenate species to selenide species in solution. Surprisingly, the chromous ion rapidly reduces selenate to selenide under acid conditions. Additionally (and also surprisingly), the chromous ion reduces selenate selectively over the reduction of sulfate where the aqueous solution contains both species. The reduced species of selenate may be removed from the chromous-treated solution, for example by precipitation of a copper-selenide solid. The chromic ions formed by reaction of chromous ions in the reduction of selenate may also be removed from solution, for example by addition of a base to form an insoluble chromic hydroxide solid. The chromic hydroxide may be recycled to regenerate chromous ions, for example by electrolysis.

Aspects of the process involve reduction of dissolved aqueous selenate (Se(VI)) in an acidic reduction medium comprising reacting the selenate with chromous (Cr(II)) ions. This reduction may for example take place at an initial Cr(II)/Se(VI) molar ratio of 8 or above. Conditions may be provide so that at least 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 99% or 99.5% of the selenate is reduced to a hydrogen selenide (H₂Se) product. This process may take place over a reaction time, which may for example be is less than 24, 20, 15, 10 or 5 hours, to provide a selenate-barren solution having a final concentration of Se(VI). The initial concentration of Se(VI) may for example be less than 100 ppm, 90 ppm, 80 ppm, 70 ppm or 60 ppm. The initial concentration of Se(VI) may also be greater than 50 ppm, 40 ppm, 30 ppm, 20 ppm or 10 ppm. The final concentration of Se(VI) may for example be less than 5 ppm, 4 ppm, 3 ppm, 2 ppm or 1 ppm.

The reduction medium may include a dissolved sulphate, present for example in a concentration of greater than 0.1 mole/L, or less than 4 mole/L, or 0.1 to 4 mole/L, or greater than about 10 g/L, or less than about 400 g/L, or about 10 to 400 g/L. As exemplified, conditions may be provided so that the reduction by the chromous ions in the reduction medium is selective for the dissolved selenate over the dissolved sulphate.

The process may for example be carried out at an ambient temperature, below the boiling point of the reduction medium, at 10° C.-30° C., or at about 25° C.

The pH of the acidic reduction medium may for example be less than 2.2, 2.1, 2, 1.9, 1.8, 1.7, 1.6, 1.5, 1.4, 1.3, 1.2, 1.1 or 1. Alternatively, the pH of the reduction medium may be greater than 2.2, and in that case the process may be carried out above the ambient temperature, for example at an elevated temperature that is below the boiling point of the reduction medium.

The reduction of selenate by chromous ions to form the hydrogen selenide product may accordingly involve the reaction: 8CrSO₄+H₂SeO₄+4H₂SO₄=H₂Se+4H₂O+4Cr₂(SO₄)₃.

The process may involve generating chromous ions by a chemical or an electrochemical reduction of a chromic solution. Electrochemical reduction may for example involve reducing a solution of potassium chromium(III) sulfate dodecahydrate (KCr(SO₄)₂.12H₂O), and the reduction of the KCr(SO₄)₂.12H₂O may for example be carried out in a divided electrochemical cell. The exemplified divided electrochemical cell included a graphite felt cathode supported by a titanium mesh, a Nafion membrane separator between an anolyte and a catholyte, and an anode formed from a lead-silver alloy. The electrochemical cell may have an anolyte compartment containing a sulfuric acid solution, with the reactions carried out in the divided electrochemical cell being:

Cathode: 2KCr(SO₄)₂ + 2e + 2H⁺ = 2CrSO₄ + K₂SO₄ + H₂SO₄ Membrane: 2H + (anolyte) = 2H + (catholyte) Anode: H₂O = 2H⁺ + 1/2O₂ + 2e Overall 2KCr(SO₄)₂ + H₂O = 2CrSO₄ + K₂SO₄ + H₂SO₄ + ½O₂. Reaction:

The hydrogen selenide product may be removed from the reduction medium, for example by contacting the reduction medium with a chemical species, such as a copper species, to carry out a precipitation reaction that forms an insoluble precipitate. The copper species may for example be a soluble copper salt and/or a copper containing oxide material. If the copper containing oxide material is CuO, the precipitation reaction may be carried out at a pH above 6 to form solid cupric selenide (CuSe), and the precipitation reaction may be carried out at a CuO/H₂Se molar ratio of 10 or higher. If the copper containing oxide material is Cu₂O, the precipitation reaction may be carried out at pH 3.5 to form solid cuprous selenide (Cu₂Se), and the precipitation reaction may be carried out at a Cu₂O/H₂Se molar ratio above 6. Wherein the soluble copper salt is copper sulfate (CuSO₄), the precipitation reaction may be carried out at pH above 4, to form the solid CuSe, and the precipitation reaction may be carried out at a CuSO₄/H₂Se molar ratio above 6. The removal of the hydrogen selenide from the reduction medium may accordingly involve one or more of the following reactions:

H₂Se+CuSO₄=CuSe+H₂SO₄

H₂Se+CuO=CuSe+H₂O

H₂Se+Cu₂O=Cu₂Se+H₂O.

Alternatively, the hydrogen selenide may be removed by from the reduction medium by sparging with a purging gas, such as N2 or an inert gas. The sparged hydrogen selenide may for example be captured in a scrubbing reaction, which may involve reacting the sparged hydrogen selenide with Cu₂O and/or CuO.

Chromic ions formed in the reduction medium by the oxidation of chromous ions may be removed from the reduction medium by a pH adjustment, for example by addition of a base to form an insoluble chromic hydroxide. The base may for example be sodium hydroxide or aqueous ammonia, and the pH adjustment to form the insoluble chromic hydroxide may accordingly involve the reaction:

Cr₂(SO₄)₃+6NH₄OH=2Cr(OH)₃+3(NH₄)₂SO₄.

The insoluble chromic hydroxide may be recovered as a solid and re-dissolved with sulfuric acid. With an addition of potassium sulfate, the original solution for electrochemical synthesis can be re-generated:

Cr(OH)₃+1.5H₂SO₄+½K₂SO₄═KCr(SO₄)₂+3H₂O.

The KCr(SO₄)₂ product may be directed to a solution for electrochemical synthesis of regenerated chromous ions and the regenerated chromous ions may be recycled to the reduction reaction.

The reduction medium may be made up from an ion exchange eluant from an ion exchange process, with the selenate-barren solution recycled back to the ion exchange process. The ion exchange process may for example involve:

-   -   passing a primary aqueous solution comprising selenate over an         anion exchange resin, such as a strongly basic resin, under         conditions whereby the selenate binds to the resin to produce a         selenate-loaded resin and an ion exchange discharge solution         comprising a lower concentration of selenate than the primary         aqueous solution; and,     -   treating the selenate loaded resin with a regenerant solution         comprising the selenate-barren solution under regenerating         conditions whereby a second anion in the regenerant solution         displaces selenate anions from the selenate-loaded resin to         produce a selenate-laden regenerant solution having a higher         concentration of selenate than the primary aqueous solution,         wherein the selenate-laden regenerant solution is directed to         form a component of the acidic reduction medium.

The primary aqueous solution may for example be a wastewater comprising dissolved sulphate, so that the second anion is sulphate.

The disclosed processes may for example be carried out essentially continuously. As such, systems are provided for continuously removing dissolved selenium species from an input water stream comprising a dissolved selenate, wherein the system removes the dissolved selenate by reduction of the dissolved selenate with chromous ions to form hydrogen selenide, wherein the chromous ions comprise recycled chromous ions produced by the system. As a result, such a system may be adapted to produce hydrogen selenide from the dissolved selenate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an Eh-pH diagram of selenium at 25° C. and selenium activity of 10⁻⁴ M. (derived from HSC Chemistry 6)

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of the exemplified setup for generation of chromous solution. 1) Anode compartment, 2) Cathode compartment, 3) Cation exchange membrane, 4) Anode electrode, 5) Cathode electrode, 6) Argon sparging inlet, 7) Circulation tube, 8) Sampling port.

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a stoichiometry example set-up.

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a Stopped-Flow setup used in kinetics examples.

FIG. 5 is a line graph illustrating current efficiency and conversion of Cr(III) to Cr(II) as a function of time. Initial catholyte: 0.1 M Cr(III) as sulfate and 0.05 M K₂SO₄ and 0.1M H₂SO₄.

FIG. 6 is a line graph illustrating the stoichiometry of the selenate reduction with chromous ions at pH 1 and 20° C.

FIG. 7 is a line graph illustrating In [Se(VI)]-In [Se(VI)]₀ concentration as a function of time at [Cr(II)]₀=0.047 M, [Se(VI)]₀=0.00022 M, 20° C., and an ionic strength of 1 M.

FIG. 8 is a line graph illustrating selenate concentration as a function of time at [Cr(II)]₀=0.047 M, [Se(VI)]₀=0.00022 M, pH 1.0, 20° C., and an ionic strength of 1 M.

FIG. 9 is a line graph illustrating selenate concentration as a function of time at different pH, [Cr(II)]₀=0.047 M, [Se(VI)]₀=0.00022 M, 20° C. and an ionic of strength of 1 M.

FIG. 10 is a line graph illustrating selenate concentration as a function of time at different chromous concentrations, pH 1.0, 20° C., an initial selenate concentration of 0.00022 M and an ionic strength of 1 M.

FIG. 11 is a line graph illustrating selenate concentration as a function of time at different temperatures, pH 1.6, 0.047 M Cr(II), an initial selenate concentration of 0.00022 M and an ionic strength of 1 M.

FIG. 12 is a line graph illustrating In([Se(VI)]-In([Se(VI)]₀ as a function of time and different sulfate concentrations at [Cr(II)]₀=0.026 M, [Se(VI)]₀=0.00022 M, 20° C. pH 1 and an ionic of strength of 1 M.

FIG. 13 is a line graph illustrating In([Se(VI)]-In([Se(VI)]₀ as a function of time and different sulfate concentrations at [Cr(II)]₀=0.047 M, [Se(VI)]₀=0.00022 M, 20° C. and pH 2.2.

FIG. 14 is a line graph illustrating hydrogen removal as a function of time at CuO/H₂Se ratios of 10, 15 and 25, an initial H₂Se concentration of 0.0022 M, 20° C. and pH 3.5.

FIG. 15 is a line graph illustrating hydrogen removal as a function of time at a CuO/H₂Se ratio of 10, an initial H₂Se concentration of 0.0022 M, 20° C. and different pHs.

FIG. 16 is a line graph illustrating hydrogen selenide removal as a function of time at a CuSO₄/H₂Se molar of 6, 22° C., an initial H₂Se concentration of 0.0022 M, 20° C. and different pHs.

FIG. 17 is a line graph illustrating hydrogen selenide removal as a function of time at a Cu₂Se/H₂Se molar of 6 and 15, 22° C., an initial H₂Se concentration of 0.0022 M, 20° C. and pH 2.

FIG. 18 is a line graph illustrating hydrogen selenide removal as a function time at pH 2 and 3.5, an initial H₂Se concentration of 0.0022 M, 20° C. and Cu₂₀/H₂Se molar ratio of 6.

FIG. 19 is a flow sheet of the selenate removal from ion-exchange eluant with the use of chromous ions.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As disclosed in the following Examples, it has been discovered that the chromous ion can, surprisingly quickly and completely, reduce selenate and form hydrogen selenide as a reaction product. For use in this reduction process, chromous ions can for example be generated by chemical or electrochemical reduction of chromic solution. The resulting hydrogen selenide can be removed from solution, for example by further reaction with copper species. It has also been shown that the chromic ions formed by the reaction of chromous ions can be removed from solution by pH adjustment.

A solution of chromous ion can be prepared by chemical or electrochemical reduction. For example, a solution of potassium chromium(III) sulfate dodecahydrate (KCr(SO₄)₂.12H₂O) can be reduced in a divided electrochemical cell with a graphite felt cathode supported by a titanium mesh, a Nafion membrane separator between the anolyte and catholyte and an anode formed from a lead-silver alloy. The anolyte compartment contains sulfuric acid solution.

The main reactions in the electrochemical cell are:

Cathode: 2KCr(SO₄)₂+2e+2H⁺=2CrSO₄+K₂SO₄+H₂SO₄

Membrane: 2H⁺(anolyte)=2H⁺(catholyte)

Anode: H₂O=2H⁺+½O₂+2e

Overall Reaction: 2KCr(SO₄)₂+H₂O=2CrSO₄+K₂SO₄+H₂SO₄+½O₂

The chemical reduction of selenate by chromous ions to form hydrogen selenide can be written in the following reaction (for example).

8CrSO₄+H₂SeO₄+4H₂SO₄=H₂Se+4H₂O+4Cr₂(SO₄)₃

The precipitation of selenide from solution may be accomplished by contact with a chemical species that forms an insoluble precipitation. For example a soluble copper salt or a copper containing oxide material may be used to react with selenide to form a copper-selenium precipitate. Some example reactions are shown below.

H₂Se+CuSO₄=CuSe+H₂SO₄

H₂Se+CuO=CuSe+H₂O

H₂Se+Cu₂O=Cu₂Se+H₂O

The precipitation of chromic ion from solution with base addition forms insoluble chromic hydroxide. Suitable bases may be (for example) sodium hydroxide or aqueous ammonia. Lime is generally not suitable as it forms calcium sulfate as a reaction product which contaminates the recovered chromic hydroxide.

Cr₂(SO₄)₃+6NH₄OH=2Cr(OH)₃+3(NH₄)₂SO₄

The chromic hydroxide can be recovered as a solid and re-dissolved with sulfuric acid. With an addition of potassium sulfate, the original solution for electrochemical synthesis can be re-generated.

Cr(OH)₃+1.5H₂SO₄+½K₂SO₄═KCr(SO₄)₂+3H₂O

As exemplified herein, chromous ions are surprisingly efficient as a reducing agent for selenate removal from waste water. As one example of the application of the exemplified selenate removal process, BioteQ (BioTEQ, 2018) discloses an application with selenium in waste water before ion exchange (IX) treatment to recover selenate. In this process, the loaded ion exchange resin is eluted with a concentrated sulphate solution to produce an eluant containing Se as selenate. The eluant needs to be treated to remove selenium in order to recycle the eluant. The invention has been shown to be effective at removing selenate from an eluant of this kind.

Although various embodiments of the invention are disclosed herein, many adaptations and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention in accordance with the common general knowledge of those skilled in this art. Such modifications include the substitution of known equivalents for any aspect of the invention in order to achieve the same result in substantially the same way. Numeric ranges are inclusive of the numbers defining the range. The word “comprising” is used herein as an open-ended term, substantially equivalent to the phrase “including, but not limited to”, and the word “comprises” has a corresponding meaning. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a thing” includes more than one such thing. Citation of references herein is not an admission that such references are prior art to the present invention. Any priority document(s) and all publications, including but not limited to patents and patent applications, cited in this specification are incorporated herein by reference as if each individual publication were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference herein and as though fully set forth herein. The invention includes all embodiments and variations substantially as hereinbefore described and with reference to the Examples and drawings.

EXAMPLES

In order to provide examples of the optional steps in alternative aspects of the present processes, a series of illustrative assays were conducted. Specific embodiments were exemplified to demonstrate (1) chromous generation using an electrochemical cell, (2) stoichiometry of the chromous reaction with selenate, (3) kinetics of selenate reduction with chromous, and (4) removal of hydrogen selenide from the solution using different reagents.

All chemicals used for the examples were reagent grade or higher grade without any further purification. In the chromous generation examples, potassium chromium(III) sulfate dodecahydrate (KCr(SO₄)₂.12H₂O) from Alfa Aesar and 98% sulfuric acid from BDH were used to prepare catholyte and anolyte solutions. A Nafion N324 cation membrane from DuPont was used to separate catholyte and anolyte. A 6 mm thick graphite felt from CeraMaterials, USA was used as a cathode. Sodium selenate (Na₂SeO₄ 99%) from Sigma-Aldrich, sodium sulfate (Na₂SO₄) from Fisher Scientific, perchloric acid (HClO₄, 61.2%) from Fisher Scientific, sodium perchlorate (NaClO₄.H₂O HPLC grade) from Fisher Scientific and sodium hydroxide from Fisher Scientific were used to prepare solutions for the kinetics study. Cupric oxide powder (CuO, 350 mesh) from Sigma Aldrich, cuprous oxide (Cu₂O, 75 μm or less) from Alfa Aesar and copper sulfate from Fisher Scientific were used for the hydrogen selenide removal examples.

NH₄Fe(SO₄)₂.12H₂O from Sigma-Aldrich was used to prepare ferric solution to oxidize chromous and hydrogen selenide to chromic and selenium, respectively. Standard cerium (IV) sulfate (0.1N) solution from Alfa Aesar was used to titrate ferrous ion from this reaction as an indirect indication of the content of chromous or hydrogen selenide reacted. Ultra-high-purity argon 99.999% Ar (<3 ppm 02) was used to purge the reactors and solutions to remove oxygen that would be expected to react with chromous and impact the reaction chemistry and kinetics.

Example 1. Generation of Chromous Ions

The electrochemical generation of chromous ions was conducted to produce chromous solution for the selenate reduction examples. The current efficiency and the energy consumption of reduction of chromic to chromous as a function of time was calculated.

Chromous solution was generated by the electrochemical reduction of Cr(III) in a three compartment cell with two anode compartments and one cathode compartment as shown in FIG. 2.

The electrochemical cell consisted of four blocks and was constructed entirely of chlorinated polyvinyl chloride sheets. The anode and cathode chambers had a capacity of 500 ml (each anode) and 1 L, respectively. The cathode compartment was equipped with three ports that were used for purging argon gas, circulating the catholyte in the cathode compartment and collecting the generated chromous solution into a storage container. The circulation of chromous solution through the cathode was performed using a Masterflex pump at a rate of 100 mL/min to enhance the mass transfer. The superficial surface area of each of the anodes and the cathode were 114 cm².

Two titanium mesh frames were used to support and compress the graphite felt between the two cathode compartments and to conduct electricity to the graphite felt. The titanium surface was painted using a chemical-resistant paint except for the electrical contact area with the graphite felt. This was used to reduce the rate of formation of hydrogen on the titanium surface.

A Nafion N324 cation membrane (DuPont Inc.) was used to separate the catholyte and anolyte. Two lead-silver alloy electrodes (1% Ag) were used as anodes while a 6-mm thick graphite felt electrode (CeraMaterials, USA) was used as a cathode. The graphite felt cathode was first washed using deionized water to remove any dust and then dried in the oven at 110° C. for 24 hours to activate the graphite surface (Hong, 2015; Sun and Skyllas-Kazacos, 1992).

The anolyte was prepared as a 0.1 M sulfuric acid solution using concentrated sulfuric acid solution and DI water. The catholyte contained 0.1M chromium (III) and 0.1 M sulfuric acid solution and was prepared using KCr(SO₄)₂.12H₂O and sulfuric acid.

Each anode compartment was filled with the prepared anolyte solution using a volumetric cylinder. The catholyte was transferred into the cathode compartment using a peristaltic pump. The catholyte was purged with ultra-pure argon gas at least for half an hour to remove oxygen from the solution and headspace of the cell before starting the assay. A slow flow of argon gas was maintained across the headspace of the cell during the example to minimize oxygen ingress. A DC power supply from GW Instek was used to apply a current density of 200 A/m² to the graphite felt. A logging multimeter and a standard resistor (5 A, 100 mV) were used to ensure that the currents flowing through the two anodes were the same. The electrolysis time was sufficiently long to ensure that almost all Cr³⁺ was converted to Cr²⁺. The generated chromous solution with the concentration of 0.1 M Cr²⁺ and 0.15 M of H₂SO₄ was then transferred into a glass container using a peristaltic pump under an argon gas atmosphere. The chromous solution was stored in a glass container under argon atmosphere to ensure no oxidation of chromous ions occurred by air ingress. The analysis of this solution after one months of storage showed that the chromous concentration did not change.

The concentration of generated chromous solution was measured by the potentiometric titration method using Radiometer ABU 80 automatic burette. A known mass of chromous solution was mixed with a known mass of 0.15 M ferric solution under an argon atmosphere. The ferric solution was made by dissolving (NH₄)Fe(SO₄)₂.12H₂O salt into 2 M sulfuric acid solution and then purging with argon gas for 30 minutes to remove oxygen before introducing the chromous solution into it. Mixing with ferric solution, Cr(II) was converted to Cr(III) while Fe(III) was reduced to Fe(II), as shown below. The concentration of ferrous ions was determined by titration with Ce(IV) as shown below.

Fe³⁺+Cr²⁺=Cr³⁺+Fe²⁺

Fe²⁺+Ce⁴⁺=Ce³⁺+Fe³⁺

The endpoint was indicated by addition of one drop of ferroin (5×10⁻⁶ M) into the solution. Blank titration was used to correct for indicator error.

The current efficiency of chromic reduction in 0.1 M sulfuric acid medium was investigated under the conditions summarized in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Conditions for the electrochemical reduction of Cr(III) to Cr(II) Temperature 25° C. Current density 200 A/cm² Cathode thickness 6 mm Catholyte 0.1M fresh KCr(SO₄)₂ + 0.1M H₂SO₄ anolyte 0.1M H₂SO₄

The conversion and current efficiency of Cr(III) to Cr(II) as a function of time are shown in FIG. 5. In the first 50 minutes, the conversion of Cr(III) to Cr(II) almost linearly increased to 60% while the current efficiency only decreased from 83.3 to 82.9%. After 50 minutes, the conversion of Cr(III) to Cr(II) increased slowly and reached almost 100% at 160 minutes. The current efficiency decreased from 82.9% to 43% with increasing time from 50 to 160 minutes. The energy consumption first increased slowly (from 3.41 to 3.83 kWh/kg in 80 minutes) as the current efficiency decreased slightly and then increased significantly with decreasing current efficiency. It finally reached 6.89 kWh/kg. In the conversion range of 80 to 90% which is sufficient for industrial applications, the current efficiency was 81 to 76% while the energy consumption was 3.5 to 3.83 kWh/kg.

Example 2. Selenate Reduction by Chromous Ions

The stoichiometry of the selenate reduction reaction by chromous ions was investigated at different initial concentrations of chromous ions and selenate and different pHs. All the assays were performed at room temperature. The initial chromous concentration in all tests was 0.05 M and the molar ratio of chromous ions to selenate was adjusted by varying the initial concentration of selenate ions.

To perform each stoichiometry example, a 60 mL syringe with its top sealed with a septum was used as a reactor. The schematic illustration of the set-up is shown in FIG. 3. The sealed syringe was chosen as a reactor to ensure that there was no free headspace in the reactor to allow hydrogen selenide gas to escape from the solution into the headspace. A magnetic stirring bar was placed in the syringe to agitate the solution. Prior to starting the examples, the syringe reactor was flushed with argon gas to remove the air and then placed in a glass cylinder. Both the head and bottom of the glass cylinder were sealed with threaded plastic caps and a slow flow of argon was maintained across the cylinder during the exemplified assay. Argon gas was passed through the glass cylinder to prevent possible diffusion of oxygen into the syringe and subsequently to prevent the possible oxidation of chromous ions and H₂Se by oxygen.

The selenate solutions were prepared by dissolving Na₂SeO₄ in deionized water at the desired concentrations and then purging with ultra-high purity argon gas for 30 minutes to remove oxygen from the solution. Sodium sulfate and sulfuric acid were also added as required to ensure the solution pH reached the required value.

To conduct a selenate reduction example, a 60-mL reactor syringe was first flushed with ultra-high purity argon gas and then filled with a known mass of chromous solution through the septum. A known amount of selenate solution was then quickly injected into the syringe reactor through the septum and rapidly mixed with the chromous solution using a magnetic stirring bar. The solutions were added on a mass basis using a sealed container to minimize the oxidation of the chromous ions in contact with air. The densities of all the solutions were measured before and after purging argon gas to calculate the volumes of the transferred solutions.

A series of samples were taken for Cr(II), H₂Se and Se(VI) analysis. For the examples with an initial molar ratio of Cr(II)/Se(VI) over 8 (i.e., an excess of Cr(II) present), half of each sample was immediately mixed after collection with a known mass of 0.3 M ferric sulfate and 2 M sulfuric acid solution to convert both Cr(II) and H₂Se to Cr(III) and Se, respectively, while Fe(III) was reduced to Fe(II). The total concentration of H₂Se and Cr(II) was analyzed by titration of produced Fe(II) with Ce(IV) using a Radiometer ABU 80 automatic burette. The other half of the sample was immediately mixed with a sufficient amount of 10 M NaOH. The Cr(II) was precipitated as Cr(OH)₂ while H₂Se was converted to HSe⁻ and Se²⁻. In the acidic solution, the redox potential of H⁺/H₂ is 0.42 V higher than that of Cr²⁺/Cr³⁺. However, hydrogen ions do not react with chromous ions because their reaction is kinetically inhibited. This is consistent with the work by Jalan et al. (Jalan et al., 1985). However, at a high pH, chromous ions were precipitated as Cr(OH)₂ and then reacted with water to generate hydrogen gas. The hydrogen evolution was much faster in the presence of H₂Se, indicating that the reaction was catalyzed by H₂Se.

2Cr(OH)₂+2H₂O=2Cr(OH)₃+H₂

After collecting all produced hydrogen gas, 5 M H₂SO₄ solution was then added to the mixture to dissolve chromic hydroxides and convert HSe⁻/Se²⁻ back to H₂Se species. The resulting solution, now free of chromous ions, was mixed with a known mass of ferric solution. Mixing with ferric solution, H₂Se was immediately converted to elemental Se, while Fe³⁺ was reduced to Fe²⁺. The solution was filtered through an Osmonics nylon 0.1 μm filter to remove elemental selenium and then the filtrate was analyzed for ferrous concentration by the titration with Ce⁴⁺ using a Radiometer ABU 80 automatic burette. The concentration of chromous ions was calculated using the difference of the two measurements. The concentration of the remaining selenate in the solution was measured using ICP-OES.

The stoichiometry of selenate reduction by chromous ions was investigated at various initial molar ratios of chromous ions to selenate ions (from 9:1 to 43:1). The initial chromous concentration in all tests was 0.05 M and the molar ratio of chromous ions to selenate was varied by changing the concentration of selenate ions. All the exemplified assays were conducted at pH 1 (except where noted), and 20° C.

As shown in FIG. 6, the average stoichiometric ratio of chromous ions to selenate was 8.07. With the consideration of experimental errors (e.g., the oxidation of chromous ions by oxygen), slightly more chromous ions were consumed. Therefore, the putative overall reaction is written below.

SeO₄ ²⁻+8Cr²⁺+10H⁺=H₂Se+4H₂O+8Cr³⁺

Example 3. Kinetics of Selenate Reduction with Chromous Ions

The kinetics of selenate reduction by chromous ions were demonstrated by varying the concentration of chromous ions, pH, sulfate concentration, ionic strength and temperature. All kinetics examples were conducted using a stopped-flow apparatus.

To study the kinetics of a reaction, the time required to mix the reagents of the reaction should be negligible compared with the reaction time. Since the reaction of chromous ions with selenate is very fast under some conditions, the stopped-flow technique was used to study the reduction of selenate by chromous ions. A stopped-flow device is an apparatus for the rapid mixing of two solutions. Using the stopped-flow technique, the solutions are first forced from syringes into a mixing chamber. After several milliseconds, the observation cell is filled by a piston linked to a sensing switch that triggers the measuring device (e.g., a spectrometer) and the flow is stopped suddenly. Since commercial stopped-flow instruments are very expensive and usually used for mixing very small volumes of solutions (usually less than 1 mL), the stopped-flow device shown in FIG. 4 (the schematic illustration) was fabricated for testing.

In this example, a UV-spectrometer was initially used to monitor the concentrations of Cr(II) and Cr(III) ions in the solution. A large background interference with the detection of Cr(II) and Cr(III) by UV was observed, which was most likely due to the formation of H₂Se. Therefore, the ICP-OES analysis was used for analyzing the selenate concentration. A series of samples had to be taken and a large volume of solution (about 50 mL) was needed in each test, which was larger than the capacity of commercially available stopped-flow devices. Using the designed stopped-flow device (FIG. 4), 30 mL of chromous solution was mixed with 30 mL of selenate solution to produce 60 mL of mixed solution, providing enough solution samples.

As shown in FIG. 4, with the use of a pneumatic cylinder, equal volumes of selenate and chromous solutions were driven from syringes into a mixer in less than 5 s and then the mixture immediately flowed into a glass syringe reactor to initiate the reaction. The head and bottom of the glass syringe reactor were sealed and also purged with argon to eliminate oxygen ingress and subsequent oxidation of chromous ions and H₂Se by oxygen. All the tubing connected to the reactor were flushed with argon gas prior to running the exemplary embodiment in order to minimize oxygen in the system. The syringe reactor was immersed in a water bath to maintain a constant temperature.

Prior to running each exemplary embodiment, the syringes containing selenate and chromous solutions and sampling syringes were placed in glass containers filled with deoxygenated water under an argon atmosphere. The glass containers were immersed for over 30 minutes in the water bath to ensure that the temperature of two solutions stabilized at the target value before initiating the reaction.

Sampling from the solution was accomplished by applying a positive pressure of argon gas to the reactor and forcing the solution to flow through a needle into a glass tube containing a known mass of approximately 0.3 M ferric solution to stop the reactions. The glass tube was flushed with argon gas before introducing the sample to remove oxygen. The ferric solution was also deaerated with argon gas for 1 hour or longer before mixing with the sample. The mixture of the sample and ferric solution was shaken and heated to about 60° C. to accelerate the oxidation of H₂Se with ferric ions. The selenium concentration of each sample was determined by ICP-OES analysis. Selenate solution was prepared according to the required solution composition using sulfuric acid, perchloric acid, sodium perchlorate and sodium sulfate. Considering the method detection limit of ICP-OES for selenium (>100 ppb), the initial selenate concentration was selected as 0.00022 M (17 ppm) so that when 99% or less of selenate is removed from the solution, the selenate concentration can still be accurately determined. Despite the fact that a higher initial selenate concentration is better for the determination of selenate concentration by ICP-OES, at a higher concentration of selenate, the concentrations of chromous and hydrogen ions will change more as the reaction proceeds and they cannot be considered to be constant. The concentration of chromous was also chosen at a sufficiently high value compared to the selenate so that the chromous concentration can be considered as constant when selenate is completely consumed. The HSO₄ ⁻/SO₄ ²⁻ system was used as a pH buffering pair to maintain a constant pH over the course of reaction. Sodium perchlorate was added to maintain a constant ionic strength.

The selenate solution was purged with ultra-high purity argon for 30 minutes to remove oxygen from solution before mixing with the chromous solution. The chromous solution for each exemplary assay was made as needed by diluting the original chromous solution, 0.1 M Cr(II) (in stock), with deoxygenated deionized water in a 50-mL flask while purging the headspace of the flask with ultra-high purity argon gas to maintain the oxygen-free atmosphere. Based on the chromous solution composition (i.e., sulfate and proton concentrations), the selenate solution was prepared in such a way that the initial composition of the mixture reached the targeted value. The concentrations of all the solutions were validated by chemical analysis (ICP-OES and titration), and in all cases agreed well with the theoretical dilution values.

FIG. 7 shows a plot of In ([Se(VI)]/[Se(VI)o]) against time. The plot is linear with a slope of −0.0695, indicating that the reaction order with respect to selenate concentration is 1. The selenate concentration as a function of time is shown in FIG. 8. The selenate concentration decreased from 17 ppm to 1 ppm in 40 minutes.

The selenate concentration as a function of time at pH 1.0, 1.3, 1.6, 1.9 and 2.2 are shown in FIG. 9.

The selenate concentration as a function of time at different chromous concentrations are given in FIG. 10.

The selenate concentration as a function of time at various temperatures is shown in FIG. 11.

The effect of sulfate on the rate of selenate reduction by chromous ions was investigated by varying the concentration of sulfate from 0 to 0.15 M at a chromous concentration of 0.026 M, selenate concentration of 0.00022 M, an ionic strength of 1, pH=1 and at 20° C. The plots of In([Se(VI)]-In([Se(VI)]₀ against time at different sulfate concentrations (FIG. 12) give straight lines which virtually overlapped.

Since the kinetics data also show that chromous ions does not reduce sulfate, the use of chromous ions may be useful for the selective removal of selenate in high sulfate concentration solutions.

In the use of ion exchange for selenate adsorption, the selenate-containing eluant can have a significant sulfate concentration (e.g. 1 M sodium sulfate or 1 M ammonia sulfate). Therefore, it is necessary to conduct the selenate reduction by chromous ions in the solution containing higher sulfate concentrations. At pH above 2.2, the selenate reduction is very slow. However, at a pH below 2.2, more sulfuric acid has to be used to adjust the pH to a lower value. Hence the selenate reduction was carried out at pH 2.2, an initial chromous concentration of 0.047 M, and an initial selenate concentration of 0.00022 M, and 20° C.

The plots of In([Se(VI)]-In([Se(VI)]₀ against time at different sulfate concentrations (FIG. 13) give linear lines which virtually overlapped.

Example 4. Hydrogen Selenide Removal from Solution

Selenate is reduced to selenide using chromous ions, which forms hydrogen selenide in the acidic solution (pH<4). Therefore, the produced hydrogen selenide needs to be removed from the solution. All exemplified embodiments of hydrogen selenide removal were carried out in a similar manner. The hydrogen selenide solution was first produced by the reduction of selenate by chromous ions and then CuO or Cu₂O solids or CuSO₄ solution were introduced to the solution to remove H₂Se from the solution as CuSe or Cu₂Se.

A typical example first involved transferring of previously produced chromous solution into a reactor. A known amount of selenate solution was mixed with the chromous solution. The chromous ions were present in a quantity slightly higher than stoichiometrically required to completely reduce selenate ions to hydrogen selenide so that there was nearly no chromous ion left in the solution after the completion of the reactions.

To measure the concentration of produced hydrogen selenide, a sample was collected at the end of each reduction example and mixed with a sufficient amount of 10 M NaOH to precipitate any remaining Cr(II) as Cr(OH)₂ and convert H₂Se to HSe⁻ and Se²⁻. Cr(OH)₂ reacts with water to produce Cr(OH)₃ and H₂. A 5 M H₂SO₄ solution was added then to the mixture to dissolve chromic hydroxides and convert HSe⁻/Se₂ ⁻ back to H₂Se species. The resulting solution, now free of chromous ions, was mixed with a known mass of ferric solution to measure the concentration of H₂Se through titration with Ce⁴⁺ as explained previously. The concentration of the remaining selenate in the solution was measured using ICP-OES.

A typical hydrogen selenide removal example was conducted by transferring 25 ml of previously produced hydrogen selenide solution into a sealed vessel, typically a 30-mL Pyrex bottle. The vessel contained three openings: one for addition of NaOH, CuO slurry, Cu₂O slurry or copper sulfate solution depending on the test, the second one for the pH probe, and the third one for purging argon gas. The reactor was first purged with argon gas to remove air and then a small pressure of argon gas was maintained in the reactor.

The solution pH was adjusted to a desired value by adding deoxygenated 0.1 M NaOH at the beginning of the exemplified assay, as required. The pH was recorded at the beginning and end of each example. The examples were conducted under constant agitation using a magnetic stirrer and at room temperature.

In order to create a slurry of copper oxide powder, 0.5 g of CuO or Cu₂O was mixed with 50 mL of deionized water in a sealed container and then the slurry was purged with argon gas for 30 minutes or longer. To ensure homogeneity of the slurry was added to the reactor, a known amount of slurry was collected from the container using a 5-mL syringe while it was rapidly stirred. Immediately following addition of the copper oxide slurry, several samples were taken using a syringe to monitor the concentration of hydrogen selenide left in the solution. The samples were filtered through an Osmonics nylon 0.1 μm filter to remove solid particles and then the filtrate was analyzed for hydrogen selenide concentration by titration. Solids were collected using a membrane filtration system and washed with deionized water and dried in air for x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. All the examples were performed at room temperature.

Hydrogen selenide removal was studied by the addition of different amounts of cupric oxide at different pHs. All the examples were performed at room temperature, constant stirring speed and under an argon atmosphere. The results of hydrogen selenide removal at different CuO/H₂Se molar ratios is shown in FIG. 14. The results of changing pH on the hydrogen selenide removal with CuO is shown in FIG. 15.

The hydrogen selenide removal as a function of time at different pH, CuSO₄ to H₂Se molar ratio of 6, and an initial hydrogen selenide concentration of 0.0022M are shown in FIG. 16.

FIG. 17 shows the hydrogen selenide removal efficiency as a function of time at different molar ratios of Cu₂O to H₂Se from a 0.002 M H₂Se solution at pH 2. It was observed that hydrogen selenide was quickly removed within the first 10 minutes and then hydrogen selenide removal increased slightly over the time. Hydrogen selenide removal increased from 92 to 97% with increasing Cu₂O/H₂Se molar ratio from 6 to 15.

Hydrogen selenide removal as a function of time at pH 2 and 3.5 and Cu₂O to H₂Se molar ratio of 6 are shown in FIG. 18. At pH 2.0, only about 90% of the hydrogen selenide was removed while at pH 3.5 hydrogen selenide was almost completely removed from the solution. As compared to the hydrogen selenide removal with CuO, using Cu₂O much better removal efficiencies were observed.

The integrated process for selenate removal from an ion exchange eluant is shown in FIG. 19.

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1. A process for reduction of dissolved aqueous selenate (Se(VI)) in an acidic reduction medium comprising reacting the selenate, at an initial Se(VI) concentration, with chromous (Cr(II)) ions at an initial Cr(II)/Se(VI) molar ratio of 8 or above, whereby at least 95% of the selenate is reduced to a hydrogen selenide (H₂Se) product within a reaction time which is less than 5 hours, to provide a selenate-barren solution having a final concentration of Se(VI).
 2. The process of claim 1, wherein at least 99% of the selenate is reduced to the H₂Se product within the reaction time.
 3. The process of claim 2, wherein the reaction time is less than hours.
 4. The process of claim 3, wherein the initial concentration of Se(VI) is less than 100 ppm.
 5. The process of claim 4, wherein the initial concentration of Se(VI) is greater than 10 ppm.
 6. The process of claim 5, wherein the final concentration of Se(VI) is less than 5 ppm.
 7. The process of claim 6, wherein the reduction medium comprises a dissolved sulphate.
 8. The process of claim 7, wherein the dissolved sulphate is present in a concentration of about 10 to 400 g/L.
 9. The process of claim 8, wherein reduction by the chromous ions in the reduction medium is selective for the dissolved selenate over the dissolved sulphate. 10.-11. (canceled)
 12. The process of claim 9, wherein the process is carried out at 10-30° C.
 13. (canceled)
 14. The process of claim 12, wherein the pH of the acidic reduction medium is less than 2.2.
 15. The process of claim 9, wherein the pH of the reduction medium is greater than 2.2 and the process is carried out above the ambient temperature and below the boiling point of the reduction medium.
 16. (canceled)
 17. The process of claim 1, further comprising generating the chromous ions by a chemical or an electrochemical reduction of a chromic solution. 18.-25. (canceled)
 26. The process of claim 1, further comprising removing the hydrogen selenide product from the reduction medium.
 27. The process of claim 26, wherein hydrogen selenide is removed from the reduction medium by contacting the reduction medium with a precipitating chemical species to carry out a precipitation reaction that forms an insoluble precipitate.
 28. The process of claim 27, wherein the precipitating chemical species is a copper species. 29.-34. (canceled)
 35. The process of claim 26, wherein the hydrogen selenide is removed by from the reduction medium by sparging with a purging gas to produce a sparged hydrogen selenide. 36.-38. (canceled)
 39. The process of claim 1, wherein chromic ions formed in the reduction medium by the oxidation of chromous ions are removed from the reduction medium by a chromic-removing pH adjustment. 40.-48. (canceled)
 49. The process of claim 1, wherein the reduction medium comprises an ion exchange eluant from an ion exchange process.
 50. The process of claim 49, further comprising recycling the selenate-barren solution back to the ion exchange process.
 51. The process of claim 50, wherein the ion exchange process comprises: passing a primary aqueous solution comprising selenate over an anion exchange resin, under conditions whereby the selenate binds to the resin to produce a selenate-loaded resin and an ion exchange discharge solution comprising a lower concentration of selenate than the primary aqueous solution; and, treating the selenate loaded resin with a regenerant solution comprising the selenate-barren solution under regenerating conditions whereby a second anion in the regenerant solution displaces selenate anions from the selenate-loaded resin to produce a selenate-laden regenerant solution having a higher concentration of selenate than the primary aqueous solution, wherein the selenate-laden regenerant solution is directed to form a component of the acidic reduction medium. 52.-57. (canceled) 